Question of the Day

Whose side of the story do you believe?

Story TOpics

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - About 32,100 Ohioans have until April 15 to claim an estimated $24.5 million in income tax refunds left over from 2010.

The Internal Revenue Service estimates that half of the refunds in Ohio are for more than $560. If the refunds aren’t claimed, the federal government gets to pocket them.

The money comes from employers who withheld money for income taxes for employees who didn’t file for a refund.

IRS spokeswoman Jennifer Jenkins told the Dayton Daily News (https://bit.ly/1jdwkt0 ) that most of the people who have money coming likely are among the working poor and didn’t file because they didn’t realize money was owed to them. Some probably didn’t meet the filing requirement of $10,000.

“You may not be required to file a tax return, but it may benefit you to file because you may get money back,” Jenkins said.

She said many of the people who are owed could be among the 20 percent of Americans who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit but didn’t claim it. The credit allows people to get more money back than they paid in.

The IRS holds on to unclaimed money for three years before it becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.

“I don’t understand why they don’t file,” said Alan Poplinski, who volunteers at the Job Center in Dayton helping people file their taxes. “If you pay $10 on your wages, it’s your money. Go after it.”